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The Sacramento Kings were going toe-to-toe against the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night until the wheels fell off under them late in the game, allowing Nikola Jokic and company to pull away and score a 113-106 road win.
The loss felt like a punch to the gut of associate coach Jordi Fernandez who called the shots for the Nuggets in that contest with Mike Brown unavailable due to health and safety protocols (via James Ham of ESPN).
“Starting with me, we have to be better.” -Jordi Fernandez on the final three minutes of the game where the Nuggets pulled away
Kings guard Malik Monk tied the game at 96-96 when he hit both his free throws with three minutes and 28 seconds remaining in regulation. The Nuggets called a timeout after that and then proceeded to go on an 8-0 run that completely threw off Sacramento. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray scored seven minutes in the last three minutes of the contest, while Nikola Jokic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined for seven points in the same span.
The Kings could have been better with their execution down the stretch, particularly on the defensive end, with the Nuggets making all four attempts from the field, including two back-breaking 3-pointers in the final three minutes.
Sacramento has now lost three of its last four games and dropped its last two. Before meeting the Nuggets, the Kings suffered a 125-111 home loss last Friday to the Washington Wizards.
It's unclear at the moment whether Brown will be ready to coach when the Kings get back on the court Wednesday night against the same team Denver squad. Either way, Fernandez has some tapes to review.
